Historical Examination of Gendered Perceptions of Crime and Moral Regulation in Canada

Abstract

Law has historically reflected the moral values of a society; however, this concept is complicated when one considers how socially established values were also largely gendered. This research project illustrates how social values of femininity and female sexuality shaped gendered perceptions of crime throughout Canada, particularly during the late interwar through postwar periods (1930’s-1950’s). Specifically, it examines how the Ontario Female Refuges Act and the Andrew Mercer Reformatory, as significant legal infrastructures, reflected and reinforced perceptions of “female crime.” Findings support the central analysis of the project; how the perception of “female crime” as synonymous with moral and sexual deviance threatened embedded social structures of the patriarchal family and traditional gender roles, inciting moral fear. An intersectional lens is employed to highlight how perception and regulation manifested uniquely upon Indigenous women in Canada. This examination was conducted through historiographical research, a study of prominent works concerning the history of female regulation in Canada, and an interrogation of primary documents, notably relevant legislation of the period. The objective of this research is to offer a historical analysis of female criminalization in Canada, which can be employed to trace and interrogate historical perceptions of “female crime” and the tangible impacts that follow, as they continue to lurk in the contemporary criminal justice system. Works Cited Chan, Wendy, and Mirchandani, Kiran. “Defining Sexual Promiscuity: ‘Race,’ Gender, and Class in the Operation of Ontario’s Female Refuges Act, 1930-1960.” In Crimes of Colour: Racialization and the Criminal Justice System in Canada, 45-67. Canada: Broadview Press, 2002. doi: https://books.scholarsportal.info/en/read?id=/ebooks/ebooks0/gibson_crkn/2009-12-01/4/408045#page=68 Female Refuges Act, RSO 1950, c 134. Fyson, Donald. “Criminal Justice History in Canada: Some Thoughts on Future Developments.” Crime, History & Societies 21, no. 2 (2017): 173-182. doi: https://journals.openedition.org/chs/1862. Hannah-Moffat, Kelly. “Mother Knows Best: The Development of Separate Institutions for Women.” In Punishment in Disguise: Penal Governance and Federal Imprisonment of Women in Canada, 45-66. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 2001. doi: https://books-scholarsportal-info.proxy.queensu.ca/en/read?id=/ebooks/ebooks0/gibson_crkn/2009-12-01/6/418119#page=110. Hannah-Moffat, Kelly. “The Andrew Mercer Reformatory and the Reformatory Ideal.” In Punishment In Disguise: Penal Governance and Federal Imprisonment of Women in Canada, 45-66. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 2001. doi: https://books-scholarsportal-info.proxy.queensu.ca/en/read?id=/ebooks/ebooks0/gibson_crkn/2009-12-01/6/418119#page=110. Sangster, Joan. “Incarcerating ‘Bad Girls:’ The Regulation of Sexuality Through the Female Refuges Act in Ontario, 1920-1945.” Journal of Health and Sexuality, no. 2 (1996): 239-275. doi: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3704141?casa_token=-xEzWiJkYp8AAAAA%3ATiUfxERZnUqTSaYKvcRa_QIqydxCD1JIT2mtWgkujc3tNJBTwNNgXnkDUwozpEszlBOmWZiQwFyaQ1W5nO0-UibXuOt8K0lD3oxGZXDPQZ5-fzf6-w&seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents Sangster, Joan. “Reforming Women's Reformatories: Elizabeth Fry, Penal Reform, and the State, 1950-1970.” The Canadian Historical Review, no. 2 (2004): 227-253. doi: https://web-p-ebscohost-com.proxy.queensu.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=f4b61941-6741-489b-bf78-fcf5ffd90d79%40redis. Sangster, Joan. Regulating Girls and Women: Sexuality, Family, and the Law in Ontario, 1920-1960. Oxford, Toronto: Oxford University Press and Toronto University Press, 2001. doi: https://books.scholarsportal.info/uri/ebooks/ebooks3/utpress/2015-01-14/1/9781442623507. Strange, Carolyn, and Loo, Tina. Making Good: Law and Moral Regulation in Canada 1867-1939. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. doi: https://books.scholarsportal.info/uri/ebooks/ebooks0/gibson_crkn/2009-12-01/6/417714. Strange, Carolyn. “‘The Criminal and Fallen of their Sex:’ The Establishment of Canada’s First Women’s Prison, 1874-1901.” Canadian Journal of Women and Law, no. 1 (1985): 79-92. https://heinonline-org.proxy.queensu.ca/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/cajwol1&collection=peggy&id=99&startid=&endid=112. Zedner, Lucia. “Women, Crime, and Penal Responses: A Historical Account.” Crime and Justice, vol. 14 (1991): 307-362. doi: https://www-jstor-org.proxy.queensu.ca/stable/pdf/1147464.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A172af8fec067b299a652de7b0d800ee6.